Heaven Dou City, capital of the Heaven Soul Empire, Heaven Dou Square.
Today marked the finals of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. Shrek Academy versus the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.
The vast Heaven Dou Square was packed to the brim, filled with hundreds of thousands of spectators, every seat occupied, all eyes fixed on the coming battle.
Above, within the imperial city, the emperor of the Heaven Soul Empire and the high officials had also gathered, using this once-in-five-years grand tournament to gauge the strength of Shrek Academy and the rising power of the Sun Moon Empire's soul tool technology.
They wished to see whether Shrek's younger generation still carried the same brilliance, or if the Sun Moon Empire's soul engineering had grown even more terrifying.
Just as anticipation for the final was reaching its peak—
Inside the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy's rest area.
A heavy atmosphere loomed. Every participant sat with heads lowered, tense expressions clouding their faces as they racked their brains over how they could possibly defeat Shrek Academy in the finals.
The leading teachers, Elder Zhang and Elder Ma—both eighth-rank Soul Engineers—watched the scene with growing headaches.
The reason was simple: among Shrek Academy's participants, there was a young woman named Zhang Lexuan. Her strength was monstrous, utterly beyond her peers.
Her cultivation was only half a step away from Soul Sage, and she had already mastered profound combat techniques. More than once in earlier matches, she had singlehandedly defeated seven opponents.
Facing such an overwhelming opponent, how could the Sun Moon Academy team not feel crushed by pressure?
Zhang and Ma exchanged glances, then nodded slightly. They decided to ease the burden on their team members.
Pressure was good—but too much pressure only hindered performance.
Besides, even if they lost, it wasn't the end of the world. After all, for thousands of years, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy had always been runner-up.
One more second place—what did it matter? As long as they secured that position, no one would criticize them.
Elder Ma cleared his throat, his tone stern as he looked at the dispirited young competitors. "Enough. The finals are about to begin. Straighten yourselves up! What kind of appearance is this?"
"Yes, Elder Ma." Hearing his serious words, the Sun Moon Academy participants immediately sat up straight, postures firm.
Encouraging them, Elder Zhang said, "You are all outstanding talents of the Sun Moon Empire. Do your best today against Shrek Academy.
Use this opportunity to learn, to absorb the experience of such a grand tournament, so that in the future you can go further on the road of Soul Engineers. I believe that one day, our Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy will defeat Shrek Academy!"
As the teachers roused their team's spirits—
In the front rows of the spectators' luxury section.
A young boy sat quietly, flanked by guards, dressed in a black ceremonial robe. His fingers rubbed against the sapphire storage soul tool ring on his index finger as he waited calmly for the finals to begin.
The boy looked under twelve, yet stood 1.68 meters tall, with short black hair, sword-like brows, and large, dark eyes full of spirit.
Though his features were still slightly youthful, his forehead was broad, his brow ridges and cheekbones well proportioned, his nose high and straight, his jawline sharp.
His facial proportions bordered on perfection, his skin fair and glowing. His striking appearance drew the frequent glances of noble young ladies seated nearby.
Some noble girls from the Sun Moon Empire recognized him immediately and whispered excitedly among themselves.
"I saw him once at a banquet—he's Wang Chen, from the Marquis Wang family."
"It's said that Miss Meng Hongchen of the Red Dust family is very close to him. Look at that nose bridge, that flawless skin…"
"Strange. The Wang family is about to hold their clan competition to choose the most outstanding youth for heavy cultivation. Why would he waste time here in Heaven Dou City watching the Soul Dueling Tournament instead of preparing?"
"Perhaps he's already given up. There are many older members ahead of him. Wang Teng, for example—already a three-ring Soul Elder and a third-rank Soul Engineer.
Wang Chen is younger, and it seems he's still only a Grand Soulmaster, unable to break through to Soul Elder. How could he possibly compete with Wang Teng?"
"Ah, that's so unfair! Poor Wang Chen. I just want to hug him and comfort him…"
"Save it. He's still the Marquis' great-grandson—he doesn't need your pity. As for 'comforting' him, dream on.
Meng Hongchen is far above you—not only beautiful and talented, but her grandfather is a ninth-rank Soul Engineer, the dean of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, the master of Mingde Hall, a Grand Duke!"
"Ugh, you're so cruel! Always crushing my dreams—I don't want to be your friend anymore!!"
"..."
Throughout, Wang Chen sat with an unchanged expression, as though the glances and gossip of the girls had nothing to do with him.
In truth, Wang Chen's soul belonged to a university student from Blue Star, who had transmigrated into the Douluo Continent as a member of the Sun Moon Empire's Marquis Wang family.
The Marquis Wang family was a renowned clan in Mingdu.
The current patriarch—Wang Chen's great-grandfather, Wang Yan—was the reigning Marquis, a powerhouse with soul power at level eighty-nine.
Within the Sun Moon Empire, his status was second only to the exceedingly rare ninth-rank Soul Engineers.
But in his youth, Wang Yan had been notoriously indulgent—surrounded by wives and concubines, fathering no fewer than seven sons.
Those sons expanded the family line further, and with Wang Yan's cousins included, generation after generation, by Wang Chen's era, the family members already numbered in the hundreds.
With so many descendants, even a powerful clan like the Marquis' household could not nurture everyone equally.
Only the most talented were cultivated with priority. The others received only general training.
Such was inevitable—resources were limited. To waste them on mediocrity would cripple the family's future.
Thus, competition among the younger generation was fierce.
Born into this environment, Wang Chen had no choice but to compete as well—fortunately, his talent was extraordinary.
At six, during his Martial Spirit Awakening, he had awakened a Tool Spirit. His innate soul power was level nine.
The Tool Spirit was miraculous—it could amplify soul tools, making them even more powerful.
Soul tools were already terrifyingly strong. With amplification from a Tool Spirit, they became monstrous—like wings on a tiger.
What's more, his Tool Spirit could enhance not only his own soul tools, but also those of others—even ordinary iron knives or stones. Though, of course, those were too weak for the effect to matter.
In short, a Tool Spirit was one of the best possible Martial Spirits for a Soul Engineer—no weaker than a spiritual-type spirit.
With his innate level nine soul power and Tool Spirit, Wang Chen stood among the top talents of his generation, rivaled by only one or two others.
Now at just eleven years old, his soul power had already reached level twenty-eight. Before twelve, he would certainly break through level thirty and become a Soul Elder.
As for innate full soul power? The Wang clan had never produced one—not once in generations.
Such a feat required top-tier Martial Spirits, far beyond the family's hereditary ones.
If a clan member truly awakened with full innate soul power… it could only mean one of two things: a mutated Martial Spirit, or a corrupted one.
There was no third possibility.
This time, Wang Chen had traveled all the way from the Sun Moon capital to Heaven Dou City for a reason.
His fingers traced the sapphire soul tool ring—a gift from the wealthy Meng Hongchen.
He thought to himself: *According to the original story, Zhang Lexuan will sweep through opponents like autumn leaves in the wind.
But I hope the Sun Moon Academy team can force her to use her advanced battle techniques and secret arts.
Otherwise, if she doesn't display them, I won't be able to record her unseen skills into the Black Book for learning.*
As his thoughts stirred, deep within his soul, a tattered black book slowly flipped open…
This Black Book was the golden finger that had accompanied Wang Chen into the Douluo Continent. Yet, in the process, it had been severely damaged, many functions lost, leaving only its most basic ability: recording.
Any skill Wang Chen witnessed could be inscribed within the book.
Once recorded, he could swiftly learn it.
Of course, whether he could actually use it depended on whether he met the skill's requirements.
For example, if he recorded a soul bone ability but did not possess the corresponding soul bone, then no matter how well he learned it, he could never use it.
Without the necessary foundation, it was impossible—like memorizing perfect code without having any hardware to run it on.
At least, in its damaged state, the Black Book could not create something from nothing.
And so, it was precisely this Black Book that had driven Wang Chen across the empire to watch the Soul Dueling Tournament.
Time passed quickly amid the chatter of the noble girls. Finally, the finals of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament began!
———
On the stage.
Zhang Lexuan stood proudly in Shrek Academy's dark green battle uniform. Her beauty was striking, her figure graceful, her posture commanding.
Facing her was a man named Li Li—ordinary in appearance but towering in stature—clad in heavy soul tool armor.
The armor was extremely powerful, consuming soul power to greatly boost its user's offense and defense.
With it, Li Li's combat strength increased by at least fifty percent. For Soul Engineers, soul power was ammunition, soul tools were weapons—and good equipment could change everything.
At that moment, within the Heaven Dou Square, tens of thousands of spectators from the three great nations of the Douluo Continent erupted in deafening chants:
"Zhang Lexuan! Zhang Lexuan!"
"Victory!!"
"Shrek Invincible!!"
"Defeat the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy!"
The thunderous roars of hundreds of thousands surged like tidal waves, merging into a storm of sound that shook the skies.
This book's setting follows the original novel.